CUP: Fiery engine failure leaves Denny Hamlin last in Texas

Written By Brock Beard

by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Hamlin’s car an instant before the engine let go. (PHOTO: Matt Miller, @MGMiller17)

Denny Hamlin picked up the 10th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Wurth 400 presented by Liqui Moly at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #11 Progressive Toyota lost the engine after 73 of 271 laps.

The finish, which came in Hamlin’s 697th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Cup Series race since another engine failure on June 9, 2024 at Sonoma, 31 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 44th for the #11, the 195th for Toyota, and the 725th from engine failure. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 64th for the #11, the 423rd for Toyota, and the 1,154th from the engine.

Hamlin scored all three of his wins last season prior to the last-place showing at Sonoma, then fell just short of the “Championship Four,” eliminated despite a rally from 37th to 5th in the penultimate round at Martinsville. Last fall was further bittersweet as it signaled the end of his sponsorship from FedEx, a fixture in the sport since the company became the founding sponsor of the #11 team in 2005 with Jason Leffler before Hamlin was hired later that year.

But a new brand was soon to arrive this past spring, when Progressive Insurance debuted at Homestead. A week later, Hamlin scored his sixth Martinsville victory, his first at the track in a full decade. He celebrated by carrying a fan’s “11 Against The World” banner, then won the next week at Darlington. In the two races since, Hamlin’s car was the only one within shouting distance of a dominant Kyle Larson at Bristol, then he led his own draft for seven laps at Talladega before he had to settle for 21st in the final shuffle.

Hamlin looked to keep the momentum going in Texas, where he’d nearly won his fourth race last year before he wrecked during a tight late-race battle with eventual winner Chase Elliott. Even after that accident, he managed to finish under power in 30th, meaning he still had just one DNF in his 34 career Cup starts at Texas – a mid-race crash on April 8, 2018. In practice, Hamlin ran 16th of the 38 entrants, then in qualifying secured 8th on the grid with a lap of 28.248 seconds (191.164mph).

Securing the 38th and final starting spot was Chad Finchum, making his first Cup start of the season in the #66 Hart HVAC & Electric Ford fielded by Carl Long’s Garage 66. Finchum’s team estimated the attrition would be as high as it had been in both Friday’s Truck Series race and Saturday’s race for XFINITY, planning to be there at the checkered flag. “Thanks everyone who puts this thing together,” said Finchum. “Let’s go put on a show.” With no drivers incurring pre-race penalties, Finchum remained in the outside of the final row alongside Shane Van Gisbergen’s #88 Safety Culture Chevrolet, the #66 showing 3.419 seconds back of the lead. Finchum moved to the inside line as Van Gisbergen pulled away through Turns 1 and 2.

At the end of Lap 1, the #66 remained in last, 4.217 back of the lead. When the gap grew to 7.478 on Lap 4, the spotter told Finchum to open his entrance to Turns 1 and 3. The advice helped, and Finchum closed onto Van Gisbergen’s rear bumper on Lap 5 before he lost the nose in Turn 1 and had to start over. With track noise interfering with the team radio, Finchum and team had trouble communicating as the gap steadily grew between the final two cars. On Lap 11, he was just over two seconds behind Van Gisbergen, then four on Lap 15. On Lap 19, polesitter and race leader Carson Hocevar rushed past Finchum in the high lane off Turn 4. Moments later, Finchum was saved by the first caution on Lap 21 after Noah Gragson spun his #4 Rush Travel Centers Ford on the apron of Turn 1. Finchum earned the Lucky Dog, and told his team his car felt “a bit free” over the bumps in Turns 3 and 4. He also remarked the opening run reminded him of drafting, that he quickly lost ground once he lost the draft of the cars in front.

Under the ensuing caution, John Hunter Nemechek incurred a pit speeding penalty for his #42 Dollar Tree Toyota running too fast in Section 3 along with Ryan Blaney’s #12 Menards / Knauf Ford in Section 6 and Ty Dillon for a crew member over the wall too soon on his #10 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet. Blaney and Nemechek dropped to the rear on Lap 24, putting the #42 in last place with Blaney in 37th, but Finchum retook the spot on Lap 25. Now ahead of Finchum was Hamlin, who due to a miscommunication failed to pit with the rest of the leaders. Hamlin pitted on a closed pit road and sped to offset the issue, knowing he’d have to start at the rear of the field anyway. During the miscue, Hamlin led Lap 23, making him the first driver to take the lead from polesitter Carson Hocevar.

Back under green on Lap 26, Hamlin worked his way through the tail end of the pack, dropping to 37th Jesse Love, making his second career Cup start in Beard Motorsports’ #62 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet. On Lap 34, Finchum was still last, 16.016 seconds back of the lead to Love’s 13.124. The team told Finchum not to be frustrated as he was running older tires than those in front of him, though he was again in danger of losing a lap. By Lap 39, he was a full seven seconds back of Love and 24.288 behind the leader. On Lap 44, he was lapped by race leader Austin Cindric and much of the pursuing pack in the high lane of Turns 1 and 2. This made Finchum’s car loose again, and he had to pull to the low lane on the backstretch to let faster traffic zip past into Turn 3.

By Lap 52, Long advised Finchum that he had to pick up his pace, saying NASCAR warned him about meeting minimum speed. The team also prepared to pit in the near future. But after a second warning on Lap 55, Long called Finchum down pit road. By then, Love in 37th had lost a lap, taking the “Lucky Dog” from Finchum. Finchum returned to the track showing three laps down, now with four tires and fuel. By Lap 72, Finchum was on the verge of four laps down, but there were no more messages about meeting minimum speed. Moments later, another driver found trouble.

On Lap 73, Hamlin had climbed back to 22nd when he radioed “I think I’m blowing up.” The car started to struggle down the backstretch, letting other traffic by to his outside. Entering Turn 3, the team told him to recycle the engine, but the car started trailing smoke into the quad-oval. Then back in Turn 1, the oil pan failed, releasing flames from behind both front tires and filling the car with smoke. Hamlin continued to roll on the apron until he stopped halfway up the backstretch. He radioed “Well, that was fun, fellas,” before he climbed out to waiting emergency crews. Finchum remained on track with the rest of the field, allowing him to close the gap on Hamlin on Lap 79. By then, the #11 was being towed to the garage, where it was pushed into a garage stall as Stage 1 ended under yellow. NASCAR declared Hamlin the first driver out on Lap 103.

The finish ended Hamlin’s streak of 21 consecutive races finishing on the lead-lap, which was tied for the eighth-most in series history.

The 37th spot was held for much of the race by Josh Berry, who had just led his 41st lap when his #21 Wurth Ford snapped loose in Turn 4 and backed into the outside wall. The crew managed to complete repairs, allowing him to return with about 57 laps to go. He climbed to 32nd by the checkered flag, passing five drivers involved in a multi-car accident on Lap 173. Heading off Turn 2, contact between Joey Logano’s #22 AAA Insurance Ford and Bubba Wallace’s #23 McDonald’s Toyota sent Wallace spinning, collecting Noah Gragson’s #4, the #48 Ally Chevrolet of Alex Bowman, and A.J. Allmendinger’s #16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet. Finchum was late on the scene, slowing as he moved to the middle lane, only to collide with Bowman’s car with his left-front, ending Finchum’s day. Finchum’s lapped car took 37th with Allmendinger, Bowman, and Gragson completing the Bottom Five.

Logano gets AAA first win, Legacy Motor Club shines in Top Ten

Logano pulled off the victory, scoring AAA Insurance its first-ever NASCAR Cup Series win after being a team sponsor since June 19, 2005. Logano prevailed after a spirited charge by Michael McDowell, whose #71 Delaware Life Chevrolet took the lead from Kyle Larson with 10 laps to go, but wrecked shortly after both Logano and Blaney made it past, leaving him 26th.

Coming through with strong finishes were both teammates at the Legacy Motor Club. Erik Jones took home 5th in the #43 AdventHealth Toyota ahead of teammate John Hunter Nemechek, who earned 8th in the #42 Dollar Tree Toyota. For Nemechek, it’s already his third top-ten finish in the season’s first 11 races. For Jones, it was his first top-five finish since last fall at Talladega, and his first on a non-superspeedway since Kansas in the fall of 2023. The series returns to Kansas next Sunday.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for both Hamlin and the #11 in a Cup Series race at Texas.

*Hamlin is only the third driver to finish last in a Cup race after leading at least one lap. He joins Bill Elliott (43 laps led on March 30, 2003) and Michael McDowell (1 lap led on November 3, 2013).

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #11-Denny Hamlin / 73 laps / engine / led 1 lap

37) #66-Chad Finchum / 167 laps / crash

36) #16-A.J. Allmendinger / 172 laps / crash

35) #48-Alex Bowman / 172 laps / crash / led 1 lap

34) #4-Noah Gragson / 172 laps / crash

2025 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) 23XI Racing, Garage 66, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kaulig Racing, Legacy Motor Club, NY Racing Team, Penske Racing, RFK Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Spire Motorsports, Trackhouse Racing (1)

2025 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet, Ford (4)

2nd) Toyota (3)

2025 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

Brock Beard https://lastcar.info
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